I have a same saw that I bought several years ago and it is a workhorse. Try to find fine tooth hollow ground blades intended for cutting veneer. Harold Hahn built his exquisite models using a Sears "Thin Rip" hollow ground veneer blade, and I have used the same with good results. In Mark's example above, produce 1/8in sheets using a more conventional rip blade, sand in your thickness sander, then use the veneer blade to slice off 1/16in planks.
Cutting up wood to standard sizes only wastes it. Cut it as you go.
Roger

I belong to a men's book group. We meet once a month at a local restaurant. Each of us has the opportunity to tell the others what has been happening to them over the past month, and then we discuss the book. Book selections are eclectic, ranging from local authors to classics, and are arrived at by consensus. Our ages range from the late 50's to over 80.
Of our dozen members, perhaps a third are dedicated e-book readers. Another group only read hard copy, in part because they usually get books from the library. The third group is like me. If we are reading a novel, I usually read it as an e-book. I can get it instantly, it is sometimes cheaper, and it is not something that I want to keep. Works of nonfiction, particularly those with illustrations and maps I would rather read as hard copy as it is much easier to refer back to these materials.
Books bought for my permanent collection are printed, preferably hard bound. I hope that publishers will not be seduced by the trendiness of e-books and abandon the printed word as many of us still want to read it.
Roger

I recently bought a bottle of analine wood dye. It didn't produce the effect that I was looking for on basswood but did work well on some pear wood blocks.
Has any one tried this dye on rigging line?
Roget

There is an assisted living facility nearby that runs ads on TV featuring an elderly lady sitting in an easy chair who says, "You don't have to do anything here as they do everything for you." My idea of hell.
Roger

Another very cheap paint used at the time was red oxide using iron oxide mixed with a binding agent such as linseed oil. The linseed oil would harden, providing a durable finish. The iron oxide pigment was finely ground iron ore bearing dirt. Before the development of UV inhibited varnishes, non-pigmented finishes could be quickly degraded by sunlight.
Red oxide primer, now produced in a low VOC water based form is still used as a cheap construction primer. We used barrels of it in the pipe fabrication industry as a temporary coating for piping that would later be insulated.
Roger

I'm being picky, but the engine in the promo is a Shay, not a Heisler. Closer to both Ashland, KY and North Caroline is the Cass Scenic Railroad at Cass, West Virginia. I think now it is called Cass State Park and it is well worth a visit. They operate both Shay and Heisler engines. I haven't been there lately but it used to be unspoiled with a minimum of tourist hoopla.
Roger

I have scratch built solid hull models with lifts cut from either waterlines or buttocks. Both can produce good results. Several years ago I built a hull by setting up thin stations cut from body plan sections with the spaces between filled with soft wood blocks. This is an easier way to build an accurate hull because the thin body plan sections are in fact templates embedded in the hull. The problem with this method is that after painting the hull I found several thin cracks running along the joints between the thin section pieces and the filler blocks. If you are planning to plank the hull anyway you won't have this problem.
Since you already have the kit I would set up the bulkheads and fill between with blocks. Since the bulkheads are supposedly accurate, shaping the hull should be easy. If you go to the scratch build forum, Ed Tosti has a series of posts about building a 1:96 scale POB model of Young America. This is the method that he used.
Roger

Can anyone explain why during the recent refits the head assembly has not been restored to its original or at least 1812 era configuration? The present enclosed Victorian era enclosed head spoils the appearance of an otherwise beautiful vessel. An even better idea would be to restore the entire ship to its 1812 era "period of significance"
Roget

David,
It looks like you live in a fascinating place. We have a sister to the USCG Maple based here in Duluth, but like most "new and improved" stuff there are concerns that she is not as capable as the World War II era Sundew that she replaced when it comes to spring ice breaking duties. We can get harbor ice up to 3ft thick
Roger

Hi Steve,
It's a small world! In 1997 my daughter Rebecca, a senior at the University of Michigan wrote a thesis titled Jane Austin and the Royal Navy. If you google Rebecca Pellett + Jane Austin it is listed on the University's English Department website. The key document that inspired her to write the thesis was a book of her letters that demonstrated that Miss Austin was very involved in her brothers' careers. I think that the book was either Jane Austin's Sailor Brothers by John H. Hubback or Jane Austin's Letters by R.W. Chapman as both are listed in her bibliography.
In addition to the sources listed by others, The Command of the Ocean by N.A.M. Rodger also includes much on your topic. It should be easy to find.
Roger

A number of years ago, I read about using potassium permanganate to stain curley maple muzzle loading rifle stocks. I bought some and used it to stain a stock. At first it worked fine but over time it developed an ugly green tint. I don't know if rigging line would be affected the same way.
Roger

I have found three examples of models or drawings of rigged Royal Navy longboats from this era:.
Rigged model in the NMM, the "Medway" model. Evidence that it was restored by Norman Ough in the 1930's. Traveler runs below tiller.
Rigged model in the Kreigstein collection. Rigging is not original. Traveler runs below tiller.
Longboat drawing on page 126 of Lavery's Arming and Fitting apparently a redraw of Admiralty draught reproduced on page 90 of May's Boats of Men of War. Rigging is highly detailed and shows traveler running OVER the tiller.
If anyone has found additional examples, I would appreciate knowing the details.
I will concede that someone making a model of a model as a work of art might wish to reproduce the NMM model, but would this would certainly not be a practical sailing arrangement.
Roger

If you have your heart set on building a plank on frame model as your first effort, I recommend the Hahn system which provides a datum to align pre fabricated frames. The Ancre method involves cutting out and erecting many separate frame segments on the keel. While the Ancre method more resembles construction of a real ship, Hahn's system is a great introduction to POF modeling.
Hahn was a prolific writer and in addition to publishing two books, many of his articles can be found in the Nautical Research Journal- check the on line index. The NRG is about to republish the first volume of their Shop Notes and this includes an article by Hahn describing his method as well as patterns for building on of his Revolutionary War era schooners.
When Hahn built his models he used an 8in table saw with hollow ground veneer blades, not a miniature saw. I built a POF model of the New York Pilot Boat Anna Marie with good results from Chapelle plans using Hahn's system and 8in table saw.
Hahn's early models were built from maple, not box or pear wood. If you are an experienced modeler, I don't think that you need to buy a kit.
Roger

I'm sorry but must disagree with Chuck's comment above. With the main sheet traveler located below the tiller it would be impossible to either tack or gybe the boat. I do have primary source information of a longboat traveler located above the tiller- the Admiralty draught of the rigged longboat shown on page of 90 of W.E. May's Boats of Men of War. I cannot explain the traveler arrangement on the period built rigged models cited, but real boats could not be sailed with this rig.
Roger